people2people expands to Brisbane with specialist acquisition

by John Doe

over 5 years ago

Fast-growing white-collar recruiter people2people has acquired a small Brisbane agency specialising in accounting and finance roles. people2people non-executive director and major shareholder Greg Savage told Shortlist the Sydney-based company has acquired 100% of BMW2 Recruitment, a niche agency set up by experienced recruiter Chris McGinty.

people2people, which specialises in accounting, business support, legal and call centre roles, launched seven years ago and has headcount of 40, in Sydney and Chatswood offices.

people2people's annual revenue is "in the vicinity" of $20 million, Savage says, and the merged entity will have between $23 and $24 million in annual sales. Savage declined to comment on the details of the transaction, but says there is a two-year earn-out for McGinty, and the company's eight staff will remain with the company. BMW2 is a "small but significantly profitable" business, he says. Temp and contract is a major focus for people2people, and delivers about 60% of its gross profit, while BMW2 makes the majority of its gross profit from perm. It has strong upside potential on the temp side, however, and this was a major sweetener in the deal for people2people, he says. "Chris McGinty has two decades of experience in the Brisbane market; there's hardly a senior account in Brisbane who doesn't know her. "So a lot of BMW2's revenue comes from senior perm placements, but we'll certainly be leveraging [its market position] to grow the temp business as well." Between them the two companies will have about 300 temps out on assignment, Savage says. BMW2 will be rebranded to people2people over the next three months, he says.

Deal brings opportunities to add new clients

McGinty and Savage both started their recruitment careers at Accountancy Placements (now Hays), at different times. McGinty later started her own business, McGinty Recruitment, which she sold to Ambition in 2005. She later re-entered the industry with a new business, specialising in accounting and finance, and says she came into contact with people2people when she hired one of its former consultants who had relocated to Brisbane. The two companies have been talks for over a year, she says, and are well-matched in terms of culture and values. The deal gives BMW2 access to people2people's more sophisticated software systems, she says, as well as providing significant cross-selling opportunities in both Brisbane and Sydney. This article was originally posted on Shortlist.